The Bears interviewed more than a dozen candidates in an exhaustive search to replace Lovie Smith, who was fired the Monday after the end of the regular season.

With Smith at the helm, the Bears went 10-6 this season, but they started 7-1 before finishing 3-5 in their final eight games and narrowly missed the playoffs.

Trestman has experience as an NFL offensive coordinator, but he is best known for his five-year stint with the Alouettes, in which Montreal won two Grey Cups, while Trestman went 64-34 (including the playoffs). He began his coaching career in 1981 as a volunteer coach with the University of Miami.

Trestman has a reputation as a respected quarterbacks coach. The Bears will be counting on him to get the most out of Jay Cutler, who has struggled the past two years. In addition to missing seven games due to injury, Cutler has thrown just 32 touchdowns against 21 interceptions in 25 games.

Trestman, who turned 57 on Tuesday, will be the 14th coach in team history, the Tribune noted.

With the Bears filling their vacancy, there are just three head coach openings (Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles) left in the NFL.